02/21/2026
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Lachlan McIntosh was 8 years old when his family moved to Georgia from the Scottish Highlands in 1736. When his father was captured and imprisoned during the war with Spain, Lachlan was placed in an orphanage and at age 17 he became a cadet at a military post. By age 21 he was working for Henry Laurens in Charleston (then “Charles Town”) South Carolina. Laurens was impressed with McIntosh and became his mentor.
By the time the Revolutionary War broke out, McIntosh was a prosperous rice planter in Georgia. He sided with the Patriots from the beginning and was commissioned colonel in command of the Georgia Battalion. In March 1776 Colonel McIntosh led the Patriot forces in the Battle of the Rice Boats, which secured Savannah. Afterwards, on the recommendation of Laurens, he was promoted to brigadier general of the Georgia Continental Line.
McIntosh is most remembered for the duel he fought with Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was his long-time political rival. Gwinnett, who was the Speaker of the Georgia Assembly, deeply resented McIntosh’s appointment to command of the Georgia Continentals, a position that he had desired for himself. He accused McIntosh’s brother Lt. Colonel William McIntosh of negligence in defense of the frontier, had his bother George McIntosh arrested on charges of illegal trading with the British colony of East Florida, and when an expedition against East Florida ended in failure, Gwinnett and McIntosh blamed each other. On May 15, 1777, McIntosh publicly called Gwinnett a “scoundrel and lying rascal.” Gwinnett promptly challenged McIntosh to a duel and the men met at dawn the next morning. Armed with pistols and standing 12 feet apart, the men fired simultaneously. McIntosh was struck in the leg, but the wound wasn’t serious. Gwinnett was struck in the thigh and died three days later. McIntosh was acquitted of all charges in the matter and returned to the army.
McIntosh was with the army at Valley Forge and afterwards was assigned by George Washington to command of the Western Department. In that capacity he led expeditions against Indian allies of the British in the Northwest and established forts in the frontier. In 1779 he returned to Georgia and was involved in the unsuccessful attempt to recapture Savannah. Along with the rest of the Southern Army, he was taken prisoner when the British captured Charleston in May 1780. He was exchanged in February 1782, as the war was winding down.
McIntosh’s estates had been ruined by British occupation and he never recovered financially. He died in Savannah at age 80 on February 20, 1806, two hundred twenty years ago today.
